Doctors had prepared her parents for the worst – tests showed that Chloe had Trisomy Thirteen, a genetic disorder often associated with intellectual disability and physical abnormality.

Her parents decided to carry full-term, and were in for a couple of surprises upon her birth.

Chloe was born perfectly healthy on April 17, 2000. And, while the early indications were that she would have two club feet – she only had one, her left foot.

Childhood wasn’t the easiest for Chloe, 18, who lives in the San Jose area. Yet she tried to maintain as normal of a life as possible – even running on the middle school team. Then, she started high school – and everything changed.

Trying to make friends at the lunch table, some girls wanted to get a closer look at her feet. She declined to take her shoes off. The girls decided to force the issue, taking her shoes and socks off against her will.

Then, her classmates went back to eating their food – as nothing had ever happened. But, for Chloe, it was a moment of assault that would stay with her for the rest of her life.

Chloe – who recently graduated high school – has put her story down on paper in the pages of Stand Beautiful. She will sign copies of the book 4-6 p.m. Thursday at First Presbyterian Church on Main Street in Downtown Dickson. The event is hosted by Reading Rock Books.

Chloe is in Middle Tennessee to appear on The Huckabee Show as one of "Huck's Heroes," which will air Saturday and Sunday on the Trinity Broadcast Network at 7 p.m.

Chloe said re-living her story in the book was difficult, but she hopes that others will draw strength from it.

“There were a lot of emotions that went into writing this book. At the end of the day, it was very rewarding to look back on the last couple of years of my life, and see how everything worked together for the good," Chloe said. "There was purpose about the hard things. Writing about the assault specifically was really challenging, at first. But, there was a lot of closure that came out of it. Now, when I read through that part, I can recognize that it has really shaped me into who I am today.”

Chloe told her parents of the assault, and they filed charges – which eventually resulted in a guilty verdict for the perpetrators. While she says she will never understand why they felt compelled to bully her, she has a certain amount of empathy for her former classmates.

“My mom always said that ‘hurt people hurt people.’ Writing this book, I feel like I have an understanding of that," Chloe said. "By the end of the book, there is some empathy that comes out. I never really got a chance to voice that forgiveness to them – because the court case made it complicated. But, if I did see them today, I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to them.”

Chloe has taken her message of self-acceptance to NPR, Teen Vogue, and even overseas to countries such as Africa and Kenya. She also has become a highly sought-after TEDx speaker.

As the school year commences, Chloe stresses that one can rise above your own circumstances – whether you are the one being bullied or the bully themselves.

“Only you have the power to determine what your labels are. You are not stuck as the victim – or the bully. We are perfectly imperfect, and are beautiful in our brokenness. We, as humans, have the power to be resilient. Your label doesn’t have to be an ugly one. You can choose to be beautiful, and let your label rise above it," she said.

Chloe also credits her faith for bringing her along over the years.

“I wasn’t supposed to be born alive, so...they called me a ‘Miracle Baby.’ Then, I grew up different, but also a superhero because my parents taught me that God made my foot just the way he wanted it to be made."

After the assault, she thought society might permanently label as a victim.

"But God completely re-wrote my story – and called me beautiful. The Bible says that we were made just the way he wanted us to be made, so taking that truth – and running with it was what gave me the confidence to stand beautiful and realize that there was power to be found in my brokenness," Chloe said.